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Latest California Healthline Stories

Workers’ Wages Siphoned To Pay Medical Bills, Despite Consumer Protections

Health care providers and debt collectors are biting from people’s paychecks to cover old medical bills. A KFF Health News investigation in Colorado shows that this aggressive collection practice is widespread even in a state considered to have strong consumer protections.

At Least 170 US Hospitals Face Major Flood Risk. Experts Say Trump Is Making It Worse.

As a warming climate intensifies storms, KFF Health News has identified more than 170 U.S. hospitals at risk of significant and potentially dangerous flooding. Climate experts warn that the Trump administration’s cuts leave the nation less prepared.

AI Will Soon Have a Say in Approving or Denying Medicare Treatments

A pilot program testing the use of artificial intelligence to expand prior authorization decisions in Medicare has providers, politicians, and researchers questioning Trump administration promises to curb an unpopular practice that has frustrated patients and their doctors.

She Had a Broken Arm, No Insurance — And a $97,000 Bill

Deborah Buttgereit knew piecing together the broken bone in her elbow would be expensive. But complications the doctor deemed a surprise, midsurgery, drove the total bill tens of thousands of dollars above the original estimate.